False costs of fraudulent conversion filed in opposition to Christian household
NEW DELHI — Two males of conventional tribal faith in central India assaulted a pastor and his household for his or her Christian religion in an try and chase them from their land and residential, sources mentioned.
In a village in Chhattisgarh state’s Sukma District, the 2 males got here with a mob to his residence, the place his church meets, accusing Pastor Motu Sodi of luring villagers from their tribal faith and fraudulently changing them to Christianity. The 2 males assaulted the pastor, his spouse, his non-Christian sister and a niece, he mentioned.
“Even though they came with a huge mob, none of them stepped forward to hit us, except for the two men,” Pastor Sodi informed Morning Star Information.
The realm falls beneath the Gadiras police station in Korra Gram Panchayat.
Pastor Sodi mentioned he and his household had been overwhelmed with thick picket sticks.
“One of them caught hold of me while the other beat me,” mentioned the pastor, who sustained inner accidents.
The attackers warned, “We won’t let you stay in the village or on your own property. We want to chase you away,” he mentioned.
Pastor Sodi’s spouse sustained a head damage and has not acquired quick medical consideration.
“I cannot put into words, how much blood was oozing out of her head,” he mentioned. “She was drenched in blood.”
After the assault on April 13, the 2 attackers filed a criticism in opposition to Pastor Sodi on the Gadiras police station. Early the subsequent morning, the 2 males returned, assaulted the household once more and disclosed that that they had filed a police criticism in opposition to them for fraudulent conversion.
Pastor Sodi then went to the police station and filed a counter-complaint in opposition to them for assaulting them.
Police registered the criticism as a “scuffle” between Pastor Sodi and the 2 males “related to a land dispute,” he mentioned, denying that he fought again.
“We told the police that we did not indulge in the assault but that they came and assaulted us brutally and injured us,” mentioned Pastor Sodi.
He mentioned he clearly informed the officer that the 2 males focused the household due to their religion in Christ, and that that they had no argument or dispute over land. Police refused to hear, Pastor Sodi mentioned.
“The officer said, ‘I don’t care; we are going to register a case of assault from both parties, and until we investigate the matter, we will assume the motive behind the scuffle is a land dispute,’” he informed Morning Star Information.
On April 16, Pastor Sodi questioned police about their failure to hold out easy procedures of offering victims with quick medical consideration, and officers despatched a girl constable together with his spouse to a hospital.
“Because of excessive loss of blood, she is feeling very weak,” he mentioned.
The 2 males additionally hit the pastor’s sister, leading to a extreme ear damage.
“My sister’s hearing is impacted,” Pastor Sodi mentioned. “She was my guest and was visiting us, but these people did not spare her either.”
The assailants screamed at his sister whereas assaulting her, “Don’t support your brother,” he mentioned.
After the tribal males had assaulted Pastor Sodi, his spouse and sister, the thick picket stick broke beneath the blows. They then turned to his 18-year-old niece, Mangali Madavi.
“The attackers hit Mangali with the broken edge of the wooden stick, and the sharp edge lacerated her cheek just below her eye, inflicting a deep cut,” Pastor Sodi mentioned.
The ambiance within the village stays tense, he mentioned.
“I heard the voices of two to three men around midnight on April 15, trying to break into my house,” he mentioned, including that he additionally reported this to the police.
Officers have instructed the residents to not collect within the village.
“I want justice in accordance with the law. I will neither leave my home and flee, nor will I recant my faith,” Pastor Sodi mentioned, requesting prayers.
Sodi grew to become a follower of Christ greater than 15 years in the past and commenced attending a tribal ministry church in Sukma. Because it was 19 miles from his village, he began a church in his own residence 10 years in the past.
“Seven families, about 25 people, from this village attend my church,” he mentioned. “And some miscreants from the village have been targeting each Christian family one after another.”
Some assaults depart the Christians stronger of their religion, however others scare them into recanting, he mentioned.
“They barged into the homes of two Christian families in 2025 and assaulted their members, just like they did with mine,” he mentioned. “One family ended up reaching a compromise with their attackers. Another Christian family was targeted in 2023.”
His household has lived in the identical home within the village for 4 generations, mentioned the pastor, who has 4 kids, the youngest 3 years previous.
India ranked twelfth on Christian assist group Open Doorways’ 2026 World Watch Checklist of the international locations the place it’s most tough to be a Christian, up from thirty first in 2013, earlier than Prime Minister Narendra Modi got here to energy.
The hostile tone of the Nationwide Democratic Alliance authorities, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Celebration, in opposition to non-Hindus has emboldened Hindu extremists in a number of components of the nation to assault Christians since Modi took energy in Could 2014, non secular rights advocates say.
This text was initially revealed at Morning Star Information
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“Well bless their hearts.”
